To the Editor:

I'm a senior citizen and I'll be 70 years old this year. I fully support an expansion of programs for seniors and space that facilitates the delivery of these services. I'm one of well over 4,000 seniors (over 65 years old) living in Newtown. Like most seniors, I am socially active, physically fit, mentally alert, live independently at home, and I, like many, continue to work. The old stereotype of a senior has changed; 65 may in fact be the new 50. I don't want to be treated as an old person; I don't want to be isolated from the younger community. I want to continue to be completely integrated with the overall community.

As I wrote above, I support programing for seniors and space that facilitates the delivery of these programs. I don't, however, support a senior center which has a separate "Old Persons" entrance, nor a senior-only center. Space should be made available for staff and for senior-specific programming, but I do not want to be isolated from the rest of the community center. We need to build the center with today's seniors in mind, not an old model of a senior center as elderly day care. Let's integrate the additional space into the community center so it fits the needs of our town's 4,000-plus seniors. Let's not build an outdated senior-only center. Everyone should be welcome, all ages should be encouraged to interface with each other and participate in programing. We are one community and the building should emulate that.

Bruce Walczak

12 Glover Avenue, Newtown         January 25, 2016